Please help Bless The Chapman Family
The Chapman family has been going through tough tough times over the past 2 months and currently their newborn baby boy, Benjamin has been struggling to breathe and eat at Cardinal Glennon Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
Rewind from now to the end of August 2020, the Chapman family had been taking many extra precautions due to COVID-19 because Kimberly was pregnant and Jason’s mother has been fighting stage 4 colon cancer. They had chose to keep their 2 boys, Elijah(5) and Lukas(3) out of a public school environment and then Kimberly would return to teaching but make smart choices to protect her and her family from COVID. Well, the first week that Kimberly returned to teacher work days, she was exposed and contracted the COVID-19 virus. It was a devastating feeling. She was 32 weeks pregnant and she couldn’t breathe, move around with out losing her breath and her cough was horrible. Jason knew that he needed to take her to the ER. They decided to admit her to the COVID isolation floor for four days. There she received monitoring for herself and baby. Her symptoms were some of the more serious and she unfortunately developed COVID-19 pneumonia. Her health care team, COVID doctor, high risk OB and regular OB made the call that she couldn't return to the classroom until after she had the baby. It was stressful because she was still sick and fighting to get better while being responsible for her substitute teacher lesson plans and grading her students. She ended up having symptoms for 33 days and she still has leftover effects like loss of breath and coughing.
So from August 25th to October 1st, Kimberly was out of the classroom due to COVID-19. Then, Baby Benjamin was born on October 2nd. His delivery was smooth and easy! It wasn't until after birth and his first exam they noticed he had a strange palete. A team was called in to evaluate further. Yes, he had a cleft palate and they were advised to try to cup feed him. As Jason and Kimberly worked together to feed Benjamin, Jason noticed something was off and then they realized his lips and feet didn't look right. The nurse was still in the room with them and acted quickly. Benjamin was asperating and was down to 50% oxygen by the time they realized something was wrong. Their room was filled with lots of medical personnel working to save and stabilize Benjamin. That's when the NICU team was called in and they admitted him immediately. They stayed at Cox South NICU for 12 days before being transferred to Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital in St. Louis. Once they arrived in St. Louis, they learned a lot about Benjamin's "A-typical structures". He has what is called Complete Cleft Palate and Pierre Robin Sequence that has to do with his tongue and chin placement and then usually they see the cleft palate as well when a child has Pierre Robin Sequence. Benjamin's tongue and chin are placed further back then his top jaw causing his tongue to fall back into his throat making it difficult to breathe and eat in addition to not having a palate separating his nasal cavity and mouth which makes it almost impossible to suck well.
They have been "living" in St. Louis for 14 days so far and no real plan for going home has been discussed at this point.
Jason is self employed making it flexible for travel but income doesn't happen if he isn't working. Baby Benjamin has now arrived and Kimberly is spending most of her time in the NICU with him while also having to keep up with her teaching responsibilities. With her other two boys, she took 8 weeks unpaid leave and was expecting to do the same this time, however life has thrown a curve ball and baby Benjamin is 3 weeks old now and The Chapman Family can't even bring their precious baby boy home. Benjamin has such special needs with feedings, how to hold him and sleeping safety that they really have no other choice other than for Kimberly to take at least an extended leave of absence.
They have been in the NICU with Benjamin 25 days now. They are exhausted. Their older boys Elijah and Lukas have been living with their Aunts and Uncles while Jason and Kimberly have been living in a hotel in STL. Kimberly went a week and half without seeing her boys so that she could stay in STL with Benjamin. The hardest part is that Elijah and Lukas just want to meet their baby brother and they can't because of COVID restrictions...it breaks Jason and Kimberly’s hearts every time they ask.
Jason has been traveling back and forth to try to keep up with work at the Music Shoppe where he works but it is exhausting being on the road so much. Not to mention how hard the roads are between Springfield, MO and St. Louis and the wear and tear on their vehicles and staying safe on those roads.
Benjamin’s Pierre Robin Sequence could cause him to need to have a jaw surgery before going home to make sure his tongue stays out of his airways. They are praying they can keep him safe without this surgery but are relying on his team of Specialist Doctors for guidance.
Benjamin will be seeing a specialist team in Chicago, IL once they are able to bring him home and they will discuss his reconstruction surgery. They will follow his growth over the next 9-12 months and then will perform a pretty complicated cleft palate repair due to the shape and how open his mouth is. Benjamin will have to learn how to breathe and eat all over again after the surgery. So for the next 12 months they are on Benjamin's journey and will be learning how to balance their family while keeping him safe and getting him the best care possible.
Any donation you are able to make to help this beautiful family of five survive these next months, would be such a blessing. Most of all, The Chapman Family would really appreciate your thoughts and prayers for their family and for Benjamin’s doctors as they travel down this road together.
We know the Lord has a great plan for sweet little Benjamin’s life and that He is watching over the entire Chapman Family!
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
